Corruption, African time syndrome and other negative practices have been identified as the bane of Nigeria’s economic development.The Commissioner, Ministry of Establishments, Training and pensions, Akintola Benson Oke, disclosed this yesterday at a symposium, organised by The Rotary International, District 9110.

The theme of the symposium was: “Business and professional ethics on the economic growth in Nigeria, indicators of weaknesses and suggested remedies.”The Permanent Secretary, Clara Ibirogba, represented him.The commissioner said the country is being slowed down developmentally due to poor business ethics, at a time when societies are in search of sustainable development.

Oke lamented that the quota system in the country has created an unhealthy sense of entitlement, as people are not appointed into strategic positions based on merit.He identified tax evasion, road traffic stemming from indiscipline, corruption in the judiciary and a weak judicial system as other factors.He stressed: “African Time syndrome has eaten deep into the fabric of our society, to prevent government from meeting its basic obligations.

He added that these practices, which include tax evasion, have given the country a bad name in the international circle.According to him, events are started late and nobody cares, because it is symptomatic of weak code of ethics.He also condemned the abuse of religion, which many use as a guise for laziness and outright negligence and irresponsibility.

The commissioner stressed that it is common to visit offices and be told that the official on duty has gone for “church programme or for the workers to be organising prayer sessions in the office during working hours.” Discussants at the symposium included Dr. Sola Atilola, Dr. Lolu Akinwunmi and Dr. Akeem Akinwale, all of whom delivered papers and fielded questions from the participants.